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10 Artists Like Ella Langley: Who to Listen to Next
Played Dandelion front to back too many times? Here are 10 artists like Ella Langley we'd put on next — and the one song to start with for each.
We've all hit the wall. You've played Dandelion front to back enough times that you can hear the next track starting before it does, the tour is months away or already behind you, and you need something new that scratches the same itch. Finding artists like Ella Langley isn't as simple as letting the algorithm run, because what makes her work is a specific combination — a voice with real grit, writing that doesn't flinch, and a traditional country backbone under modern production. Plenty of artists have one of those three. The ones below have at least two.
For each, we'll tell you why she fits next to Ella and the one song to start with. Listen to the song before you commit to the catalog — that's the whole system.
The most common comparison, and for good reason. Both are small-town Southern women (Louisiana for Lainey, Alabama for Ella) who ground everything in twang-forward, bell-bottom-era country and write like they've actually lived the songs. Lainey leans a little more 70s funk; Ella leans more honky tonk. If you want the side-by-side, we did the full breakdown in our Ella Langley vs. the class of 2026 comparison.
Start with: "Things a Man Oughta Know"
If you caught a Dandelion Tour date with Kaitlin Butts opening, you already know — and if you skipped the opener, that's exactly why we keep telling people to show up early. She's red dirt by way of Oklahoma, more theatrical than Ella, and her live show swings from murder ballads to barn-burners without warning. Ella picks her openers like a fan would, and this booking is the proof.
Start with: "she's using"
Ella's most direct chart peer, but they don't actually sound alike — Megan writes diary-page country with a softer touch, where Ella writes like she's telling the story across a bar table. They're two answers to the same question, and most fans of one end up keeping both. The contrast is half the fun.
Start with: "Tennessee Orange"
Not a "similar artist" so much as the source code. Miranda co-produced Dandelion and duets with Ella on "Butterfly Season," and you can draw a straight line from Miranda's fire-and-heartbreak catalog to what Ella's doing now. If you somehow got into Ella without a Miranda phase first, fix that this week.
Start with: "The House That Built Me"
The other half of "you look like you love me" — the duet that introduced most of the world to Ella. Riley's solo catalog is classic-leaning, hunting-camp country with more sentiment than the duet lets on. If the back-and-forth chemistry on that song is what hooked you, his records are the natural next stop.
Start with: "I Wish Grandpas Never Died"
The hardest traditionalist on this list. Zach sounds like he walked out of 1994 country radio fully formed — fiddle, steel, and a haircut to match. Fans who love that Ella keeps real honky tonk in her sound (she covered Kitty Wells, after all) tend to fall hard for Zach.
Start with: "Sounds Like the Radio"
Red dirt's rawest young writer. Where Ella polishes the heartbreak just enough for radio, Wyatt leaves the rough edges in. The vulnerability that runs through Dandelion's quietest songs is the same nerve Wyatt's whole catalog sits on.
Start with: "Please Don't Tell Me"
An Iowa songwriter's songwriter who spent a decade writing for everyone else before her own breakout. The craft-first approach is the link — if you're the kind of fan who reads the liner notes and wants to know who wrote what, Hailey's catalog rewards you the same way Ella's does.
Start with: "Everything She Ain't"
The wild card. Sierra isn't mainstream country at all — she's old-time, western swing, and mountain music with a voice from another century. But fans who love the sound of Ella's voice, that worn-in ache, keep ending up here. Trust us on this one.
Start with: "In Dreams"
The arena-traditionalist lane. Big voice, no gimmicks, songs built to be sung back by 15,000 people — which is exactly what Ella's shows have turned into this year. If the live experience is what you're chasing between tour dates, CoJo's records carry that same scale.
Start with: "'Til You Can't"
Don't add all ten at once — that's how playlists die. Pick the two or three start-with songs that match what you love most about Ella: voice (Sierra, Cody), writing (Wyatt, Hailey, Miranda), or the whole modern-traditional package (Lainey, Zach, Kaitlin). Let those breathe for a week, then come back for the rest.
And if you're still working through Ella's own catalog first, start with our ranking of every Ella Langley song — or, if you're newer here, the Ella Langley beginner's guide gets you caught up in 30 minutes.
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